Ford announces it is moving to migrate the company’s driver-assist technologies across its product line-up over the next five years

For decades, public speaking was America’s most anxiety-inducing activity. Now, dangerous drivers are more frightening than speaking in public, death, spiders and snakes – according to independent research company Penn Schoen Berland.

Top fears for Millennials and members of Generation Z:

Other motorists driving dangerously (88 percent)

Public speaking (75 percent)

Death (74 percent)

Spiders (69 percent)

Snakes (69 percent)

“Younger generations are growing up with different fears than their parents or grandparents,” said Kevin Shkolnik, vice president, Penn Schoen Berland. “Younger drivers are worried about distracted drivers, but they think technology isn’t just the problem, it’s also the solution, as we are seeing growing demand for driver-assistance technologies.”

The most worrisome driving situations among survey respondents include:

Snowy or icy roads (79 percent)

Maneuvering into a tight parking spot (75 percent)

Backing out onto a busy street (74 percent)

Monitoring blind spots (70 percent)

Not knowing where I’m going (69 percent)

Penn Schoen Berland conducted the poll on behalf of Ford Motor Company, surveying 1,000 Generation Z (ages 16-22) and Generation Y (ages 23-34) respondents in the United States. The online survey was conducted between April 29 and May 4, 2015; the margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.

The new research validates Ford’s decision to offer technologies that will help drivers with common driving concerns. Ford has announced it is moving to migrate driver-assist technologies across its product line-up over the next five years.

“Research like this is important to Ford and other automotive brands because it informs us about the situations that cause consumers the most stress,” said Crystal Worthem, Ford brand marketing manager. “As driver distraction and safety conversations have broadened, we are seeing what technology will help customers tackle their greatest fears.”

The research shows 65 percent of respondents are more likely to purchase a vehicle if it has technology to help with parallel parking. Of those polled, 62 percent want technology to detect objects in blind spots.

“Ford is listening to customers to better understand what they want from their vehicles,” said Worthem. “Part of understanding what consumers want is to know what concerns them, and we will continue to use data like this to inform how we research and develop our products and technologies.”